Current-collector for electric railways.



n No; 896,319,

lrn sTATlrs PATENT orsron.

PHILIPP PFORRLOF LANKWITZ, NEAR BERLIN, ND PUL E. HERKNER, OF BERLIN, GER- MANY, ASSIGNORS TO GENERAL ELEOTRlOCOMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

CURRENT-COLLECTOR -FOR ELECTRIC RILWAYS.

Specification of Letters Patent,

Patented Aug. 1.8, 1908.

Application led January 23, 1907; Serial No. 353,649.

To aZZ-wLom it may concer-n:

Be 1t known that we, PHILIPP PFORR and i PAUL E. HERKNER, subjects of the Emperor of Germany, residing, respectively, at Lank Witz, near Berlin, Germany, and at Berlin,

Germany, vhave invented certain new and useful improvements in Current-Collectors for Electric Railways, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to electric Most of the forms of trolleys heretofore in use have comprised an arm pivot-ed at one end to the vehicle and spring-pressed rear-` lso wardly and upwardly against the underside of the suspended conductor and making more or less of an acute angle therewith. When the direction of motion of the vehicle was to be reversed, the latter had to be brought to Ia sto and the trolley shifted by the operatorwhi. e standing on the roadway.

Another form of trolley which has been used to a limited extent consist-ed of an-inverted -Usl1aped bow made sufliciently short to stand at nearly right angles to the suspended conduct-or when 1n working positron, so that .upon reversal of motion of the vehicle it would swing past thc normal and in doingso slightly raise the conductor. This steep position of the current collector had the disadvantage that it was obliged to make large angular Vmovements in slight changes of height in the working conductor, which at high speeds caused yinterruption ofcontact and consequent sparking. Moreover the steep current collector often failed to shift upon change in direction of travel, and remained in the wrong direction until it encountered a rough spot in the. conductor and after the vehicle had attained considerable speed so that the sudden shifting of the bow caused damage either to itself or to the conductor.

The object of our invention is to provide an arrangement of trolley and .means for o erating it whereby it will be automatical y and positively sh ifted upon reversal oidirec--y part of this specification is shown one emof a double set of trolleys and their operating means adapted for use on a single car or two cars coupled together Flg. 2 1s a part section and part side elevationof the controlling' valve and its operating means Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the port to the pneumatic cylinders; and Fig. L is a side elevation of a fluid pressure throttling diaphragm.

Hinge blocks 1 with oppositely-disposed rest-arms 2 are secured to the railway vehicle (not shown),- and to each block is pivoted a pair of collector bows 3 4 and 3 4. Bows 3 3 are intended to be elevated.into`operation wh en the vehicle moves to the right and bows 4 4 are intended to be elevated when the vehicle/moves to the left. When the bows are in retracted position, they are car-V ried by the*oppositely-disposer'l rest-arms 2.

The means for raising `the bows against gravity comprises cylinders 5 6 and- 5 6 whose pistons are connected to bell-crank levers 7 8 and 7 8 pivoted on some stationary part and connected through insulated links 9 10 and 9 10 to the bowsnear their pivoted ends. Each pair of bell-cranks 7 8 and 7 8 and therefore each pair of bows 3 l andB 4 are interconnected so that when bows 3 3 are forced up bows 4 4 are forced down and vice versa; To effect this interconnection between bell-crank levers 7 8 and 7 8, auxiliary levers 11 I1 are connected through short links 12 to the adjacent ends ofthe bell-crank levers and the fulcrums of the auxiliarylevers are carried in slots formed vertically in stationary blocks 13 on the vehicle. The slot is made sufficiently long valves 16 to pipes 17 1S leading to opposite sides of a four-way controlling-valve 19 having a pipe connect1on20 by which it is connected to the source of compressed air (not y shown).

The controlling valve 19, as shown in Fig. 2, has seats 21 22, ppposite pipes 17 and 18, and spring-pressed pistons -23 Z4 normally seagatey depressed to close exhaust ports 25 formed in ends of'thegpistons'Z, 24 engage a rockeiL arm 26vp1voted between them on bracket 27 depending `'from thel controlling valve 19, and the rocker-arm is actuated by a roller 28,

l moved past the neutral point, so that vthe re versing switch 31 is positively thrown and heldin engagement with one or the other of its contacts 32 33, and at the sam-e time thc ythe valve19,ybelow the pistons. The l`ower-'- such that the'roller 28 tends to move intoextreme position-s relative to the rocker ,when

corresponding exhaust port 25 is positively opened to perinit'the. forward current col; loctors lto be lowered. while.t`he trailing c'ollectors are raised in to contact with the suspen'ded conductor.

. The switch 31 may be actuated to move thex ro`ller28- past the neutral position by hand, as usual, or it may be controlledby a branch circuitl 34 actingon.electromagnets connected,to the reversing switch lever 3l.

ln order to cushion the; upward movement of the current collectors, a throttlii'igrv device is arranged in the air ports 36 of the actuat ing` cylinders .5 6 and 5 6, as shown in del` tail in 3 and 4.` vThe tlnottlingdevice" consistsA eta inet-al disk 3.7 with a. series ot small apertures 3S grouped in a circle about a central aperture 39 and. a leather disk 40.

placed in front of the metal disk 37 andlvhaving a single centr-'al aperture 41, whose area is equal to the sum ofthe areas of all the holes inthe metal disk, but so arranged that the leather 'outside the aperture will efectually close the circular series of holes 3S when the compressed 'air seeks to enter the cylinder. W' hen `the air is to be exhausted from the cylinder, the iiexible disk 40 moves sut i y .ourhands this fifth day of January, 1907.

ficiently away from the metal disk 3T to uncover the holes 38 and thereby .permit the air to escape through holes 3S land 39.

Packing disks 42 andi-43 are interposed be-` tween the cylinder flange 44. and pipe flangex 4.5 on opposite sides oi disks 37 and 40.

In order to effect-a quick flowering of all the current collectors 3 4 and 3 4', the SWP l ply pipe 20 is provided with a` three-way l valve 46 having anexhaustport leadingto an 'o enen-ded pipe 47. e

ev do *not desire to restrictv ourselves to' 55 ,the particular vform or arrangement of 'parts herein shown and described,isinc eit is a parent that they may be changed and. mo i- .',lec'tors, of a fluid-pressuredevice connected 7c to each of said collectors,.a current reversingr switch in the.' car motor circuit, and valve connected to said fluid-pressure devices and actuated by saidV reversing;1 swi tch 'hir alternatelyl raising and loweringr said current col- 75 lectors according to the directionot travel.

8. -Thc combination with two mipositclypivoted current collectors, of a fluid-pressure device connected to each oi' said current collectors, a controlling valve connected to said at? :fluid-pressure devices, a rocker arm for ,vactuatingr said valve., acurrcnt reversing switch ,in the. car motor circuit, anden arm connected to said.I switchl and engaging said` rocker arm. p

4. The, combination with acurrent collector, of fluid-pressure means for raising and lowering said collector, and' means for autof maticall'y throttlingthe flow 'of pressure fluidI during the raising of the collector-and .pere 9c mitting-a freeilow thereof during the lower` ing of the collector. 'i

In witness whereof, 'We have hereunto set PHILIP? Pross..`

I ivPA'UL'sE. HERKNER.

llfvitfnesses: n y

JULrUs RUrILND,l I KAR-L MEcKELsEN. 

